The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 76

Aden descended to the Remes estate with the Ents through the Bartrum Merchant Guild of Pobol.

Thanks to various transactions, Aden was recognized as an important customer by the Bartrum Merchant Guild.

Aden warned the merchant leader of Pobol to keep quiet about the Ents.

The merchant leader chuckled and said, “Of course, young master. You can’t carelessly babble such golden information. Loose-tongued merchants tend to depart this world quickly.”

“That’s true.”

Aden sincerely agreed, thinking of the loose-tongued spirit merchant, Rabbits.

Ten days later, Aden returned to the Remes Ducal House.

“It’s been a while.”

He had returned after about a month, having invaded the headquarters of the Sacred Fire Order.

However, the atmosphere at the Duke’s residence was a bit chaotic when Aden returned.

All the servants he met had strange looks in their eyes.

‘What’s going on?’

Just as he was wondering, Carl, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, appeared with a crumpled expression.

As soon as Carl saw Aden, he began to question him.

“Brother, what on earth have you been doing outside?”

“Why? Is it because of the Ents I brought?”

“No, that’s a ridiculous issue, but that’s not what I’m talking about right now…! Damn it. Just see for yourself.”

Carl, who was babbling, eventually spat out a curse in frustration.

Aden wondered if Carl had gone mad from eating something wrong.

‘See for myself? What does he mean?’

But when Aden was guided by the servants to the drawing room, he understood everything.

He couldn’t help but empathize.

The strange reactions of the servants and Carl’s flustered state made sense.

A woman with neat brown hair in a plain dress was smiling in front of him.

“You’ve arrived. I’ve been waiting.”

Lady Flora of the Baron House.

Her true identity was the Silver Witch, Niketa Florence, leader of the moderate faction of Warlocks.

She was calmly waiting while drinking tea in the Remes Ducal House.

Aden pressed his throbbing forehead.

The situation strangely overlapped with the events at the capital mansion.

-Why is this woman here?

‘That’s what I’d like to ask.’

An unmarried woman from another family visiting without notice implied a close and intimate relationship.

She must have come to see him.

To a scoundrel young master who had no decent connections with women, a noble lady from an insignificant family visiting was a significant event that could cause a stir in the Ducal House.

‘Why?’

If there was something to discuss, she could have used a familiar spirit.

It must be a very important matter for her to come personally despite being busy leading her organization.

Aden decided to ask her directly.

“Why have you come to our family, Niketa Florence?”

Calling her by her real name meant he didn’t want to play any pretenses.

She understood Aden’s intention and dispelled the appearance-changing black magic, returning to her original form.

With her waterfall-like silver hair and beautiful blue eyes like a serene lake, she exuded a mysterious charm.

“Although you probably know everything, let me properly introduce myself first.”

Even after dropping the act, she spoke respectfully, and Aden’s gaze changed.

“My name is Niketa Florence. I am the leader of the Warlocks’ faction, Florence’s Fire, and the last bloodline of the Florence family, the leader of the information group, White Moon, Aden.”

Aden already knew all of this.

What mattered was not that.

‘Wait, did she just call me Aden ‘sir’? Did I hear that right?’

Who was she?

In the future, she would be known as the queen of Warlocks, a woman so lofty that it would be an insult to be considered second.

But then something entirely unexpected happened.

The noble queen of Warlocks, Niketa, clasped her hands and bowed respectfully to Aden.

“A humble servant who walks in darkness greets the Lord of the Underworld.”

* * *

The Silver Witch Niketa.

She had a destiny to fulfill, continuing the will of the fallen Florence royal family from hundreds of years ago.

‘To repel the corrupted Warlocks and restore their essence.’

Warlocks were not inherently evil.

Those who committed atrocities using black magic were the evil ones.

Restoring the fallen status of Warlocks was her revenge against the empire and her dream.

Thus, she gathered those who shared her will and devoted her entire 24 years of life to her cause.

She killed evil Warlocks who tainted the name of Warlocks and took control of the empire’s underworld.

In the meantime, she became known as the Silver Witch among the Warlocks.

That day, she attended a banquet at the imperial palace to deal with those who planned a crazy act in the heart of the palace.

And then she met him.

The notorious young master, Aden Remes.

-No matter how bright the moon is, darkness is everywhere, even at this moment. Isn’t that right, Niketa Florence? Noble bloodline of Florence.

He revealed that he knew her identity.

A dangerous person she should kill immediately.

-I know. Black magic is a power for humanity, not a power to harm humanity.

However, his words confused her.

She couldn’t figure out whether he was an ally or an enemy.

-Yes, it’s suspicious. Then keep watching.

He told her to keep watching.

-To see if what I say is true or not, observe and judge.

So she kept watching.

Whether he was awake, eating, or sleeping.

She kept watching through a familiar spirit.

And she saw him subdue Talos, kill corrupt Warlocks and the semi-master of Sias, and find and unite an ancient ‘artifact’ from the basilisk’s fang.

She could only come to one conclusion.

She revealed her realization of Aden’s identity to him.

“A humble servant who walks in darkness greets the Lord of the Underworld.”

In response, he asked incredulously.

“……What does that mean?”

“I saw everything.”

She stared at Aden and spoke firmly.

“I saw the high Talos summoned in Yulikan City calling you ‘Lord’.”

“…….”

“And that pendant.”

Niketa pointed to the pendant around Aden’s neck.

“Barak, that pendant is a lost treasure of the Florence family. It only reacts to ‘your bloodline’s descendants’, the bloodline of Florence.”

“……!”

-……?

Aden was shocked by Niketa’s words.

That this pendant was a divine artifact of the fallen Florence royal family?

And that the Florence family was the descendant of the Lord of the Underworld was news to him.

Aden urgently questioned Curse in his mind.

‘Hey, is that true? Did you know about this?’

Curse was just as flustered.

-I, I don’t know! This is new information to me!

‘Damn it, how could you not know!’

Was she making it up?

But Curse’s next words made it hard to dismiss.

-I am only a fragment of the soul. When the original split the soul, it restricted information to some extent. It could be that I don’t remember.

As Aden debated the truth in his mind, Niketa continued.

“I don’t know how you manifested in the middle realm and why you are in this form, but it must have a deep meaning.”

She firmly believed Aden was the underground lord.

Otherwise, how could the high Talos called Mephisto call him Lord, control spirits as wraiths, and wear the reunited Florence artifact that had split into two?

‘And that soul…….’

Aden Remes’ soul was as deep as an abyss.

Only he could possess such a soul.

‘The noble lord of the underworld, the underground lord.’

Realizing this, she felt a sense of rapture.

He was a revered figure to all Warlocks, whether moderate or radical.

Just as humans received magic from dragons, the origin of black magic traced back to the Underlord.

To her, he was not just an object of reverence but the progenitor of her bloodline.

Her heart, usually cold and calm, raced with excitement.

Meanwhile, Aden remained silent, watching her.

“…….”

It was a misunderstanding.

A severe misunderstanding.

‘Well, not entirely a misunderstanding…….’

At least, the fragment of the Underlord’s soul was with him.

‘About 0.001% correct?’

Although it seemed silly, this wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

Only then did he notice her expression.

She seemed to have a cold, emotionless face, but her eyes were sparkling with excitement.

It was strange he hadn’t noticed sooner.

-To me, she looks like she has a murderous glint in her eyes.

‘What would you know without eyes?’

Aden cautiously asked Niketa.

“What if I say I’m not?”

For a moment, her eyes wavered, then she looked determined.

“If that’s your wish, I will believe it wholeheartedly.”

She looked like a subordinate saying they hadn’t seen anything after receiving an order from a superior.

She had no intention of believing him.

* * *

-You seem to want to hide your identity, so I’ll leave now. Call me anytime you need help. I will follow you with all my heart.

She left, still misunderstanding, leaving only those words.

Aden looked at the pendant around his neck with a perplexed expression.

“This is Florence’s divine artifact….”

He had felt a strange sense of familiarity when he first found it in the dungeon.

And now he remembered its true nature.

He clicked his tongue.

“It belonged to her.”

The pendant that the Silver Witch Niketa always wore while leading her faction was a symbol of Florence.

[Florence’s Pendant, Barak]

This pendant, after being passed down through generations, finally met its match and became whole again.

It increases the recovery speed of the owner’s physical strength, enhances affinity with demonic and dark attributes, and quickly recovers mental fatigue.

There are

still many hidden functions, as it is a sealed equipment.

It is bound equipment. It cannot be removed until the owner dies.

Wearer restriction: Underlord and his bloodline (updated)

Upon checking the system information again, he noticed that the name and new information had been updated.

Aden sighed.

“It seems her words weren’t false or mistaken.”

The name was clearly written as ‘Florence’s Pendant’.

The wearer restriction was ‘Underlord and his bloodline.’

As far as he knew, this system, derived from the power of dragons or gods, never lied.

That meant the Florence family being descendants of the Underlord was true.

It was an unexpected revelation, but not entirely strange.

Even the imperial family claimed to be descendants of the transcendent Sage of Alchemy, and there was a kingdom somewhere that claimed to be descendants of dragons.

There was no reason why the ancient Florence kingdom couldn’t be similar.

‘Then why is such a necklace bound to me?’